anarchist_nomad | Recent Recurring Thought

There are definitely many types of activism! I totally agree! Besides mass demonstrations, other types of work that I have done include:

CopWatch -- going on patrol to monitor the police, as a means of preventing brutality
Food & clothing redistributions
Political prisoner support
Books-to-prisons programs
Running an infoshop and a free store
Strikes and picket lines
Organising boycotts

There is more, but I think that this gives some idea. I'm absolutely on the same page as you that street marches are not the only form of activism. However, I still think that chatting with friends, running a "fun & games" workshop, and dancing at the disco doesn't count as any of them...

Sure, and I agree with you that only doing 'easy' activism can be an out.

But could you get involved in doing similar things again? There are avenues here to get involved with supporting political prisoners, there are infostores, free stores, squatters' networks, etc.

How about starting with something small? Join Liberty, say, and get involved with some of their awareness campaigns? Even if you don't have a lot of time, slacktivism can be useful :-)

There are definitely different options available that I need to consider. Many are similar to groups that I belonged to or worked with when I was Stateside: Indymedia (http://www.indymedia.org.uk/) or the Industrial Workers of the World (http://www.iww.org/), for instance. There is an Oxford IMC and a West Midlands IWW branch, both of which are quite accessible to me.

There are also local options that I have worked with since moving to Oxford, like the SPEAK (http://www.speakcampaigns.org/) demonstrations that I joined in shortly after arriving here. (http://anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com/75583.html)[*] There is also an Oxford group working in solidarity with the Palestinians -- another worthy cause. Again, getting involved would not be too difficult.

I take commitments quite seriously and would not just jump in feet first. So I need a bit of time to figure out the best ways to contribute and how much time I can spare. Then I start looking for the best options for involvement.

What is your own activism like these days? What are you working on?

[*] Those were fun, not least because of the court injunction preventing SPEAK people from talking to Oxford University employees. By law, then, I was unable to converse with myself...

Pretty fucking non-existent, really. Which I, like you, feel a bit frustrated about, but with full-time job, masters degree, mental & physical health crap and dealing with family stuff, I just have to roll my eyes and say it'll happen later. I used to do a lot with one of my friends who I haven't seen for a while, he was a great dude and very involved, spent a lot of time camping with Brian Haw in Parliament Square. I miss the lunchtime demonstrations, they were great for a tiny bit of activism to break up the day! ;-) I'll probably try to get involved with other legal and environmental projects when I have time, as those are both big areas of interest for me. I'm hoping the degree will give me more concrete stuff to work on which will help with the activism too, so even if I don't enjoy it, it'll be helpful in the long run.

I was doing quite a bit of union stuff until the end of last year, including LGBT events (which I do count as activism in some regards), but have had to scale back a bit and will probably have to step down from my remaining role for a while. *sigh*

I was doing quite a bit of union stuff until the end of last year...

Union stuff is very good! I like union stuff! :-D I'm curious: What is this "remaining role" that you speak of?

Also, environmental stuff is something I can really get behind! Although I was never a member of Earth First! (http://www.earthfirst.org/), I did work on environmentally-themed campaigns with some of their people back when I lived in Arizona! Good stuff!

I'm the branch LGBT officer. I was going to organise an event for LGBT History Month in Feb, but I wasn't well enough :-(

I used to be shop steward and assistant regional coordinator, but I had to give up the other roles when I started doing the degree.

I may get involved in Green Party politics when I have more time, since I don't need political clearance or anything. I suppose I could also volunteer at Planning Aid for London, which is a charity giving free planning advice.

There is something about the thought of Wobblies in Oxford that delights me ;-D

(I was never really political enough to be an "activist", although I participated in a few anti-war rallies when I was a hippie. And my feminism was always more personal than ideological, i.e., "What do you mean, I can't do that because I'm a 'girl'?")

*grin* Always happy to bring some delight into your life, my dear Ace! :-D

Your eclectic approach to life often provides me with delights and other reasons to smile. You are not only the only astrophysicist I know, you're also the only change-ringer - and very nearly the only Wobbly, at least as far as I know (I can't really count Leslie Fish, because we only exchanged email a few times). And you're smarter than I am, which I find refreshing.

So..... are you trying to make me blush? ;-D

Seriously, thank you very much for the extremely kind words! There shall be a super-sized extra-large hug coming your way at the Sooper Sekrit October Pagan Fest! *smile*

I just tell things the way I see 'em. But as long as you're not too busy, I'll collect that hug in October! (And I'm very much looking forward to whatever delights you have planned for us all.)

Our plans for P**T*** 2010 are so awesome that you cannot even conceive of them! Indeed, our delights are so delightful that we have not even conceived of them! At least not yet[*]...

[*] To be fair, we didn't sit down and decide what to do for the main ritual last year until the very, very end of August. So we still have plenty of time! Also, the Ashokan contract has arrived, which is a happy thing. Should be able to have invites in the mail by early July! Hooray!

If you have the forms in the mail by early July, I think you will have beaten the previous record by about a month and a half!

(I'm curious about how the planned improvements to the facilities will affect us this year. But that's a question for private conversation.)

If you have the forms in the mail by early July, I think you will have beaten the previous record by about a month and a half!

That's the plan... but, to be fair, we don't get any credit until we actually pull this off! :-D

(I'm curious about how the planned improvements to the facilities will affect us this year. But that's a question for private conversation.)

Indeed!

I think you might be underestimating the positive impact that something like Oxford Bifest can have. Sure, its not directly confrontational, but I'm less clear than I used to be about the value of direct confrontation. I've spent years doing eco-activism of a confrontational nature, and although I don't regret it for a moment, I think engaging in any kind of conflict is a double-edged sword. Means are just as important as ends, and there is a tendency for people to become like the thing they fight against. Its a huge question, and deeply complicated. Stare too long into the abyss, and the abyss will stare into you... One for a fireside chat, I think!

*soft smile* Thank you for the kind words, good sir!

I think that, for me, it is less about confrontation-versus-nonconfrontational and more about the groups that are being served.

Working on Oxford BiFest took a lot of time and effort, so I certainly hope that it had a positive impact! Still, at the end of the day, the UK bi community is -- by and large -- a very privileged group. The work that I did as an activist was geared towards helping those far more disempowered... and it is that which I truly miss. See my comment below (http://anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com/313198.html?thread=3221102#t3221102), to

artremis, for more detail, my friend.

I am, of course, always happy to discuss further with you... particularly if you can provide the fireplace or firepit for the fireside chat you suggest! That sounds like a particularly pleasant idea! :-D

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